NEW YORK (360Dx) – Akers Biosciences announced today that it has signed a three-year agreement with the Greater New York Hospital Association — a trade and group purchasing association representing hospitals and healthcare systems in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
As part of the agreement, Akers Biosciences will market its rapid tests for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia to the association’s 300 hospitals.
Two member hospitals — Kaleida Health and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center – will evaluate Akers Bio's PIFA Heparin/PF4 Rapid Assay and PIFA PLUSS PF4 tests. Akers Bio and GNYHA will then share the results of the evaluation and begin marketing the tests to the broader network of GNYHA hospitals.
Akers Bio said that its PIFA Heparin/PF4 Rapid Assay and PIFA Pluss PF4 tests are designed to quickly determine if a patient may be developing thrombocytopenia, a relative decrease of platelets, while being treated with heparin, a blood thinner, at or near the point of care.
Thrombocytopenia reverses heparin's intended therapeutic effect and transforms it into a clotting agent, putting patients at risk of developing limb- and life-threatening complications, the firm said.
Akers Bio said that its rapid tests could save hospitals between $500,000 and $1 million per year in testing, pharmacy, and clinical monitoring costs, when compared to traditional methods of testing for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.
Akers Bio CEO John Gormally said in a statement that the firm’s clinical diagnostic products will “improve effectiveness, operational efficiency, and profitable outcomes” for the association’s members.
The PIFA Heparin/Platelet Factor 4 Rapid Assay detects antibodies to PF4-sensitized microspheres found in some patients undergoing heparin therapy.